Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blocking mechanism for a patient's skin incision device, particularly for a disposable skin incision device, and to a method of controlling of a skin incision device by a blocking mechanism.
State of Art
There are known patient's skin incision devices, disposable ones, for collecting a blood sample for diagnostic purposes, which perform an incision of a skin with a determined geometry of the incision that is with the determined length, depth and the profile of the incision, and which are prevented from an unintentional actuation and/or from a re-use.
From the patent publication No. U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,441 there is known an incision device with a lever assembly provided with a planar blade, which blade performs a rotary-plane motion, controlled by respectively formed guides in the housing. The device is prevented from an inadvertent actuation by a blocking mechanism configured in an upper portion of a housing. The blocking mechanism comprises a trigger slidably disposed in the housing, which cooperates with the lever assembly, and a removable safety clip situated between the trigger and the housing. For the actuation of the incision device, there is a necessity to remove the safety clip and, afterwards, to press the trigger deep into the inside of the housing. After detachment of the safety clip from the trigger and its removal from the incision device, the trigger moves freely into the inside of the housing and back outside, after actuation of the device and after its use as well. With such a structure of the blocking mechanism, after use of the device, the trigger can be freely pulled out back in the front direction that is outside the device and the safety clip can again be located between the trigger and the housing, as a result of which a state of use of the device is not unambiguous for the user. Such a structure of the blocking mechanism with a removable component part, here in the form of the safety clip, which for the actuation of the device has to be taken out of the device, imposes upon the user focusing on this component part and acting consciously in order to put it aside and to utilize it safely, the acting which has to be safe first of all because of the patient but also because of an environment. Moreover, such a structure imposes upon the user employment of both hands to operate the device, which makes impossible to hold reliably and continuously a segment of the patient's body, which is to be incised, or to hold the whole patient and the selected segment of his or her body as in the case of a premature baby, newborn, baby or a small child, which can cause a risk for the patient.
From the patent publication No. U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,595 there is known an incision device for executing a precisely controlled incision on a patient's body, in which a blade before a use of the device is protected by a removable shield and a motion of the blade is controlled by slide guides in a housing. The device comprises a two-stage mechanism of an actuation of an incision stroke of the blade with the first stage, in which an arm of a trigger is in a ready-to-fire state, and with the second stage, in which the arm of the trigger is in a firing state. Before the use of the device and for the firing of the actuation mechanism, the shield has to be removed from the blade and then remains detached from the device without any possibility to put it again on the blade, which imposes upon the user operating the device with a closed attention and causes utilization problems. The described incision device requires two hands to operate it, and is not provided with a blocking mechanism precluding, on purpose, from an inadvertent actuation of the device.